St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-04-02
NUMBER IL.

! InlS JauSn IS feplele WITH lnSOlencS~
In fast, the remark just nlede has refer
ence To- a subject that has grown sore
from cough handling. Il has reference
to'a )istle scene in the early town life Of
Gerf.ld Massareene, who one evening,
goi1g Il little off his head after the ter
minatioh Of a triumphant Derby day, took
perhaps a little more champagne than
was good for him. Some-his friends
said it was only his usual excellent
| apirits raised to an excited pitch because
| OF his having made q good thing off the
! winner Others-his acquaintanceS Che
! had no enemies, good lad that he wast-
| said it Was the excellent spirits Of the
! club cellar. However it was, Massareene
! went considerably beyond bounds, and
WAS i'll the morning thoroughly ashamed
| of himself Then ,ame his introd ductioE
: to Millicela. t1rey-almost little girl at
| that time but old enough to !nthrall and
hold him with her budding beauty. And
with his growing love for her grew his
fear that this one episode vulgar cpl
sOde he called it, should be made know1
to her. It was an absurd fear Of course,
and uyose more from an apprehension
that she would regard him with disgust
| than from any very moral regret for his
misconduct; but, bs that as it may, Grant
IDOAiS hutN Oh HIS nervous BcEfOI Oi
being knuWa--and- for the matter of that,
so did Nilicent, who had heard of the
LITTLE affair long time ago, and had
laughed Il good deal at several of the
smaller details concerning it Indeed, il
had been Il very 5nnocent oGense frora
first to last
At L3r4nit's yvcsnls Massarecne's face
flames. and I sudden fire trightens his
eyes. -it the inomcnt it is easy to sec
that there i3- little love lost between the
two men.
You means'' says MassareeDe, little
sharply, taking a step forward
''Just what said, dear boy-that you
were eninently scbcr. Could | have
borne higher testimony 20 your charac-
ter. Miss trey-as you seem H0 have some
doubts ahout the accuracy Of my state
ment--wiIl, am sure, corraboratp what
| have just said. -
Il refuse 40 g5ye my c0Hntenance tS
anything you may chance to say, ~ re
turns MilEcenr in low tone, but with
flashing eyes.
She has understood the drift of her
cousins remarks, and bitterly resents
them She may not be overland always
to Ma~sareene, but she will permit Id
one else TO be uncivil to him.
"Nhat.'t cries Boyle, gayly, arching
his bGows and lifting his shoulders in q
foreign fashion that either belongs to hirn
or has been cultivated to nicely, ''you
disagree with me5 You. really think
THAI our friends eXtTemely-er-em-
presse manner. his hurried entrance, etc,
meant - the er- the other things
Really. dear Massareene, l would not
stand tfla6 il I We're you. You look as II
you would like to murder somebody'-
with light laugla-"that is the standing
condition ot your conntrymen, eh' Why
not call Miss Grey outy''
"Duel7ng is oat of fashion, and one
only hor>ewhips men, replies Massa-
reene, ,neaning2y, with his eyes fixed
steadily upon his opponent.
''Gh hat duel under such conditions
that eannot be out of fashion, as It.
has never yet come in. Why not set itS
Be leader of it? Anla tete a tete with
Mss Grey. even under such equivoeal cir
c,lnlstanees, might not be altogether
without its charm
He throws out this last tauLt quite
airily--making even slight movement Of
the hand that somehow adds to the ag-
gressive impeFtinence Of it.
Massareene throws mp his bead. as
though scenting battle, and mis- faee
paIes Millicent, marking thesasigns Of
coming storm, enters the breacis hastily.
~ do think, Grapit, she says glancing
insoler,tly at her cousin from beneath
half closed lids, that when you try TO-,
be amusing you are the most unpardon~
ably stupid person / ever met. Yong
iokes always make me feel inclined te~
weep
''En this instance?'' demands be.
quickly, his face darkeninEs and an evil
light coming into his eyes
s'And in every other. One yawns
enough in all conscience. a. one. goes
through life without being compelled to-
do it by those who would fain believe
they stir our laughter Give it up, my
dear Grant; comedy is beyond you-thss
heavy business suits you better
A glance at her cousin convinces her
that she has amply revenged herself His
brow is as black as midnight, and his
mouth has saken the old expression sha1
means mischief Massareene, too has
added to his discontinue By breaking
into gay laugh, that rouses Mrs. Brand
from her perusal of review, as scurru-
GUS rs it is just, of book written by y
friend OF. f.hers, that she finds OF engross-
ing interest-the review, that Is, not the
book
''What is its' asks she, looking up In
high good humor. Really, the review
has snite exceeded her expectations. 'I.
it is any thing amusing pray let me heag
it. Z have been SO put out by very
hIsrsh criticism on dear Fanny Ellwoods
novel that require something to cheer
me. Some little fest Of yours, Granits
Come, tell it to me, though l must say,
| my dear, You look more like an Oshella'
| this moment than one born In merry
| hour Alb, here comes tea at lastt Just
move my chair q little, will you: Thanks
dear Grant. l am fast becoming an old
woman, ehs''
Grant, is in just such a pleasant mood
as urges him to tell her she is already
amongst che frosts and SHOWS Of life: but
/ 1